Risk analysis for the control of healthcare associated infections: Epidemiology of alert organisms in the Marches region’s healthcare trusts

INTRODUCTION As a part of a project funded by the Italian Center for Disease Control (CCM), a multimodal study with the overall objective of reducing the circulation of alert organisms and describing their epidemiology, was carried out. METHODOLOGY The study was conducted in the Marche Region , with the AOU United Hospitals of Ancona, Polytechnic University of Marche as the coordinating center, with the provision of several stages, as follows. a) establishment of the regional surveillance network; b) elaboration of the operational surveillance protocol for the detection and evaluation of regional, inter-facility spread of Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms ; c) sharing a regional protocol for the management of colonized / infected patients; d) design of peer-to -peer education interventions for healthcare workers. RESULTS The project saw the participation of all public hospitals of the region for a total of 258.806 admitted patients. The most frequent antibiotic-resistant isolate in critical and surgical areas was Klebsiella pneumoniae, while in the medical area Escherichia coli was preeminent. The integration of data from the network of laboratories has allowed us to establish a tracking system of colonized / infected patients. DISCUSSION The project, still in progress, has allowed us to activate a regional network for the surveillance of the phenomenon. Further developments of the initiative will include the enlargement of the network to the long-term care facilities, and the implementation of antibiotic stewardship interventions.